Free The Misses Moffet Mend A Marriage: A Victorian San Francisco Story by M. Louisa Locke Page A

Roberts, a partner in the Union Ironworks who was at least thirty years her senior. Minnie disapproved of her, but Millie found her lively sense of humor refreshing. Of course, she didn’t tell Minnie that.
    Juliette dismissed the bellman as soon as she had relieved him of his burdens and followed the two sisters into the large, elegantly appointed room that served the Roberts as their parlor. Mrs. Roberts, as usual, hadn’t emerged from the adjoining bedroom, so Minnie switched the flow of her conversation to the maid while carefully unwrapping the parcel and laying the three long pieces of a burnt-orange satin fabric out on the table to the left of the fireplace.
    Millie silently went over to the brocade-covered armchair where the maid had deposited her carpetbag and pulled out the red pincushion, making sure that there was a threaded needle stuck into the cushion before strapping it onto her left wrist. She laid out the spool of thread and the slender, sharp scissors on the table, close at hand.
    The maid, who had been putting anothe r log on the fire, broke into Minnie’s description of how the weather reminded her of Fall in Natchez to ask her if they were ready. Minnie nodded, and Juliette knocked lightly on the door to the bedroom and then went in.
    “I hope she is willing to stand still long enough for us to get the wa ist fitted properly,” Minnie said, sighing.
    Millie smiled. Every Wednesday morning , they were scheduled to spend an hour at Mrs. Roberts’s hotel suite for a dress fitting, and almost every Wednesday, they were dismissed after only twenty minutes, the lady professing that she couldn’t remain stationary a single minute more.
    “ Juliette, serve Miss Minnie and Miss Millie their tea, and then you can go.” Mrs. Roberts, a tall, raven-haired beauty, swept into the parlor. “I will probably have a little rest after they leave, so you don’t need to return until four.”
    Juliette bobbed a curtsy and went over to a table covered in burgundy velvet that was located near the door to pour out two cups of tea. She also removed a thick linen napkin, revealing a plate piled high with slices of ham, Swiss cheese, and soft rolls.
    Millie sighed , since she knew that even the tea would remain untouched by either her or her sister as long as they were handling the delicate satin material, but she did appreciate the gesture. Thank goodness for the excellent breakfast served at Mrs. Fuller’s boarding house, or I might be tempted to break Minnie’s “no food when working” rule.
    Mrs. Roberts went over and began to caress the semi-finished sections of skirt lying spread out on the larger table. “Oh my, that satin is heavenly; the color is just as I imagined. And those pleats!”
    Millie’s sister launched into the story of the difficulties in getting the thread dyed to match the shade of the satin while Mrs. Roberts took off the pale-lilac wrapper she wore and handed it to Millie. Her sister had designed this dressing gown last summer for Mrs. Roberts, and she had spent every night for a month sewing on the delicate strips of lace that ran down the front of it. She saw that the seam at the neck was torn, and several of the tiny ivory buttons were loose. Mrs. Roberts was hard on her clothes .
    Minnie would say it was because she hadn’t been brought up as a lady. She certainly wasn’t as shy as some of their customers were about standing around in her underthings. Today, she only had on a single petticoat in addition to her chemise and drawers, probably because the dress they were fitting was in the new long cuirass style that went smoothly over the waist and hips. However, the fact that Mrs. Roberts wasn’t wearing her corset was going to make it hard to measure the skirt accurately, which was their task today.
    Minnie went over and pulled the sturdy footstool over to the fireplace, and Mrs. Roberts went and stood on it. Then she took the front panel, the one with all the pleats, and held it up